Torchwood: Dimensional Serenity
by Torched Arrow
Summary: During the test run of the newly constructed Rift Manipulator in the hub of Torchwood 5 Sydney, team leader Josh Wanton is taken by a rift storm and trapped in a parallel universe. Within the confines of the constellation Trajan, he and the crew of a wrecked ship seek out the one thing that may save them from death: the Key to Time. (Original characters bar-the Crew)
1. The Storm

All the lights in the Torchwood 5 facility flickered one by one, before stopping shortly afterwards. Team leader Josh had grown fond of the hub since the recruitment of Amy Cooper and Warren Hope. It wasn't exactly the best facility, but it was still standing after the period of time it had existed. With Torchwood 3 disbanded and it's members MIA, it worked as the only functioning group to track down alien life, and protect the human race. As the team leader, he felt a sense of accomplishment and responsibility that he hadn't held in a very long time. Checking the readings on the monitor screens, he moved closer to the newly installed Rift Manipulator. Because of the transference of the rift energy from the closure of Cardiff's rift, storms in Sydney had increased in the past few years, and were becoming very unstable. With the installation of the manipulator, it allowed the team to ensure that no damage was done to the city or surrounding suburbs.

Occasionally there would be small storms, capable of knocking out electronics in the hub, but emergency power would eventually kick in. And there would be very clear indications of a storm. Textbook examples being the klaxon blaring, and the emergency exit lights blowing out. Josh continued to monitor the screens, grabbing a slice of pizza from the table next to him, while he threw his overcoat on. "First installation of new technology, and not a single problem at all. What do you think that means Warren?" he announced over the communication frequency. "I suppose, it would mean an early night. And, with an early night, means lots of booze and movies." Warren responded, his voice booming through both Josh's earpiece and the speakers in his office. Josh smirked to himself, and typed the command key into the manipulator, activating it. Warning lights and sounds flashed and screamed, Josh moving steadfast to the beams to check the status, a Rift Storm was rapidly approaching, on a severe scale. He ran towards it, holding the neutron wheel, and steered it in the anti-clockwise direction, enabling control. Bolts of lightning struck all around him, and severe winds caused lots of paper destruction within the facility. He tried to continue steering, but the flow was too overwhelming to stop now. "Boss, what's the situation? We've got severe readings on the tablets." stated Warren, his voice boomed again through the earpiece in Josh's ear. "Rift Manipulator is spiralling. Tell me there are inbuilt countermeasures and not manual ones?!" he yelled, standing back and watching the lightning strike the beams of the manipulator.

"No, there's nothing. U.N.I.T. tech is built for manual use. Get out of there while you can. Me and Amy are on our way-*" the sentence being cut off, and the room flashing with a bright white light. Josh shielded his eyes, and hoped for the best. He felt a heavy tugging sensation at his waist, and was pulled into a wormhole, feeling dizzy, sick and disoriented as he fell through a crack in the fabric of reality. The lights surrounding him filling his eyes with the sight of pure space and time, which made him close his eyes. "Amy, Warren, I've been sucked into one of the storms. I'm unaware of my position." he yelled, the breath in his lungs sucked out every time he pronounced a word. "Amy, Warren, I'm in the blind. I've been sucked into the storm. Copy my last!" he exclaimed, feeling a huge sense of hopelessness and despair. As he fell further and further, he felt his body begin to contort, and twist, which then stopped when the lights disappeared.


	2. Arrival

He eventually fell through the space between worlds onto solid ground, his weight pushing him face first into the sand under his body. He determined that this wasn't Earth gravity, at least at this moment anyway. Standing up slowly, his eyes readjusting to the bright sunlight in front of him, at least the sunlight of another two suns. Once he felt ready, he stood up clearly, his back straight and his posture slightly askew. He tapped the earpiece within his ear canal, and spoke softly. "Amy. Warren. Do you copy?" his voice gravely and weak. The static of the transmissions irritating his eardrum. He cleared his throat and tapped the earpiece again. "Amy. Warren. This is Josh. Do you read." his voice becoming urgent. He took a step, and fell, still readjusting to the gravity on this planet. Looking up, he saw a group of huts that lay nearby. He undid the leather flap covering his Vortex Manipulator, tapping at the buttons and reading the psychic screen above his wrist. He was on a totally different planet as he had determined. An entirely different universe. This shocked him at first, but upon realisation, he noticed that he'd been in worse situations. There was the time he was trapped with Warren in the tunnels under the city, surrounded by Cybermen. Or when he was surrounded by Raston Warrior Robots. He definitely wished that there was a Doctor this time, but alas there was not. He stood on his feet, and walked slowly, taking his time so as to not collapse. Upon finally reaching the huts, a man and woman arose from their seats outside, and drew weapons on him. Definitely primitive technology at least, that he had determined. This universe was a parallel to the one he had left, the weaponry ahead of what he had expected. He raised his hands, and uttered four words. "I come in peace."

"If you're here for peace, you're certainly packing well for someone who ain't." the man spoke, training his pistol on Josh's head. He was bulky. Definitely some sort of former soldier, or mercenary. In his line of work both were usually in tow with the other. "I can remove it if you'd like. I don't mean any trouble." Josh retorted, smiling at the man in front of him, his shirt reading some sort of mandarin dialect that he didn't understand at the time. He was too uncoordinated to put his mind to work on it. "Jayne, stand down. The man doesn't mean harm, and I can see that." another voice boomed. A man stepped out of the shadows of the hut, and removed the cowboy style hat that he wore to get a better look at Josh. "You're kidding me. You are kidding me right? Man like this strolls on in to our camp, and you want to let him stand?" Jayne exclaimed angrily, lowering the gun from Josh's head and holstering it. "I'm sorry. We haven't seen a straggler around these parts for years. And with the suns decaying, well, it's best to let a man die by natural causes than shooting him in the head. The name's Malcolm." the shadowy man announcing and moving forward to shake Josh's hand. "Joshua. Josh Wanton. Sorry about the informality." Josh asked, looking around the small camp that they had made. Upon further inspection he noticed that a lot of the huts he had seen previously, were constructed out of a ships metal skeleton among the fuselage. "Well, it's good to see a new face is all. And you look like a decent enough man not to cause trouble." Malcolm responded, putting his hands on his hips.

The other member of the group rested her weapon, the others in the group who had exited their buildings staying mostly silent except for a few of them. Two of them conversed silently in mandarin, while the others sat and stared at the wanderer who had just arrived. "Yeah, well, I wouldn't be causing trouble if I didn't want to stir up your nest here. What planet is this?" Josh questioned, closing the flap of his Vortex Manipulator and putting his hands in his pockets. "You must have had a lot to drink, or your memory's fadin'. We're on Amell IV. Last habitable planet of the constellation of Trajan." Malcolm answered, moving his hand to indicate for Josh to follow him. Josh nodded at the man known as Jayne, his reaction instantly to look away and grumble. "So, you're not local then." Josh inquired, trailing behind Malcolm. He wore very period style clothing, almost as if he had been ripped out of a western movie, but with sci-fi. "No. We were destined to leave a couple of months back. But our ship got banged up pretty bad by debris. Been stuck here ever since. Are you?" Malcolm questioned, turning to face Josh as he led him into what was crudely constructed as some sort of dining room. "It's complicated. I was taken by a rift storm on my planet. Well, in my universe." Josh began, Malcolm placing his elbows on the table and resting his head on his hands. "A rift storm huh? Well, that's something I ain't ever heard of. No rain I'm guessin'." Malcolm retorted, focusing on Josh and his body movements while explaining.

"No. A rift storm is when a tear in the fabric of reality pulls you, or an object through that tear. It places you in another position in your universe, or another. If I had to determine what happened, I'd say I'm in some sort of parallel universe. Much different to the one I'm from." Josh finished, crossing his arms and leaning back in the chair he was seated in. "So, how do you get back?" Malcolm asked, moving his hands to the table, and crossing them. "I don't know yet. I would use my own transport, but it's knocked out. Rift storms destroy, or impair a lot of technology that goes through them." Josh finished, pointing at his Vortex Manipulator on his wrist. Malcolm stood, and walked towards Josh, leaning on the crude table to pass on knowledge to him. "I'm a humble man. Wasn't up until recently. But I figured I play nice and things will go my way. So this is how it will go for us; you're welcome to stay with us as long as you need until your wrist strap is powered up. But you owe us a favour." Malcolm spoke, Josh standing so as to not feel threatened. "I figured I might. As soon as I'm juiced up, I'll take you to my place. Best I can do. That or I find transport there for you and your crew to get back home." Josh promised, holding his hand out. Malcolm extended his hand out to shake it, and smiled, but saddened. "Our home is a wreck. We'd appreciate wherever you take us." he admitted, nodding at Josh. "You got it Mal." Josh returned, nodding back at him.


	3. In The Blind

"What do you mean he's gone? He can't be gone!?" Amy exclaimed, shouting at the monitor in front of her. Warren was too slow in getting back to the hub, and missed retrieving Josh from the storm. "Warren, look at this. No life signs. No beacons. Nothing. He's completely gone." she continued, placing her hand on her head, and tugging the hair from her roots softly. Warren could tell she was very frustrated. He kept looking at his screen and hoped she'd let it go, so he could think about what to do next. "Warren, for gods sake, say something! Stop being so fucking silent!" she exclaimed, slamming her hands on the keyboard in front of her. "What do you want me to say Amy? That I can just call up Mr Doc and get him to rescue him? We can't do anything until the next rift storm." Warren yelled, standing in front of her. "Which is in the next couple of days according to the manipulator. So chill out for the love of all things holy! I can't think while you're screaming your head off at me." he finished, looking at her sternly. He was just as mad at himself as she was mad at him. She nodded slowly, and walked away, moving towards Josh's office. "Where are you going now?" he asked, but got no answer. He turned, and faced the monitor in front of him, whilst he tapped away at the keyboard below him. "Come on bro. Where are you. Give me a clue." Warren muttered silently, looking up to lock eyes with the Rift Manipulator.


	4. Welcome To The Crew

"So where exactly are you from?" the young girl asked, the man seated next to her seeming to be very uneasy at Josh's presence. "I'm from Earth. I'm not sure where else I'd be." Josh replied, taking a bite out of the piece of rat meat that had been cooked. "You're actually from the Earth That Was? River thought you might be important. I guess she was right!" the girl exclaimed, shaking the man's arm. Josh turned to Malcolm, and cocked his head slightly. "You never introduced me to your crew, captain. I already know Jayne." Josh asked, looking at the array of different faces seated around him. "Well-" Malcolm was interrupted by the young girl, giddy at the ability to introduce herself. "I'm Kaylee, and this is Simon! The quiet one is River, Simon's sister." Kaylee announced, slightly annoying Malcolm. "Thank you Kaylee. That's that portion settled. Pretty lady over there is Inara. She's our-, well, was our ship's companion. Those two lovebirds are Wash and Zoe. Former pilot, and my second in command." Malcolm finished, taking a seat next to Josh. "So, pretty big family. Gonna get bigger soon." Josh replied, nodding at Zoe, her facial expression turning to that of shock, and surprise. "How did you?-" Zoe asked, her reaction now being that of disbelief, before being interrupted by a crack of lightning in the sky. "Rift storm! See there, in the area just to our north? That's where I fell." Josh stated, looking saddened at the sight before him. "If you came here through the lightning, can't you go back through it?" Simon inquired, his body language reflecting a state of a defensive posture towards the girl Kaylee. "It's not that simple. Rift storm can pick a guy up in one century, and drop him off in another, in another universe. He might not end up where he want's to go if he goes back through it." Josh answered, rubbing some of the dirt that had accumulated on his face off into his hands. "So, what are you gonna do? Stay with us? Or travel around?" Wash chimed in, grabbing a piece of the rat meat that was left over on the tray. "I'm not quite sure yet. But I like it here." Josh replied, smiling at River, who hadn't spoken a single word.

As the camp went to sleep, Josh stayed at the small fire they had going. River sat across from him, eyeing him off. Josh would look over at points, and then look away to the horizon ahead. He could make out a few distinct structures, nothing too big or fancy, just what was needed on the planet he had assumed. River still stared. Looking at the man that she didn't quite understand, but did. She could read his thoughts and memories, and yet none of it made much sense. She knew that there were multiverses. Obvious scientific theory and true fact. But she wasn't sure what she was looking at in front of her. "Josh." she muttered, getting his attention. "You can say more than that. You haven't said a single word since I've gotten here." Josh retorted, still looking in the distance. "You can get home." she replied, as the info flowed through her head. This got Josh's attention. He turned and faced her. "How. What do I need to do. Is he nearby?" he exclaimed softly, not wishing to make a scene. "There is a key. And he isn't here." she whispered, looking him in the eyes. "What kind of key? Is it metaphorical or physical?" he asked, attempting to understand what was going on. "The key is time." she concluded, standing and walking away. He slumped, and ran his fingers through his hair, picking out some kind of, well, he didn't even know. Some sort of small bug. He decided to keep watch, even though he knew that Jayne would be awake and on watch. Soon after, he fell asleep, his body exhausted and tired out.

The morning after, he found River sitting over him. He awoke, shocked but then came to his senses. "You slept." she smirked, standing up and walking towards Simon. Josh stood, and wiped the dust off of his jeans. He approached Malcolm, who amongst himself, Jayne and Inara were going on a supply run to the nearest city. "Need an extra hand?" Josh asked, approaching their land vehicle. Inara turned, and smiled to the stranger before her. "We can always use an extra hand. Are you any good with technology?" she inquired, slinging a backpack over her shoulder, which was covered by a mandarin looking jacket, stopping just below her knees, but gave good wind protection. "On occasion. Depends on what technology it is. Anything beyond 51st century technology is where I'm not helpful." Josh smirked, opening the flap of his Vortex Manipulator, and closing it upon it still being disabled. "Well, I suppose you're lucky that you're in the 51st century then." Inara replied, pushing herself up onto the top of the speeder, with Jayne following and Malcolm close behind. "Hop aboard. We'll see if you can be put to good use." Malcolm announced, extending his hand to assist Josh jumping up onto the rather large craft. Once they had buckled in, the craft left as soon as it could.


	5. Calling For Backup

It had been several days, and the Rift Storm passed through the hub softly. Still, no sign of Josh had appeared. Amy had worked tirelessly to create a small enough unmanned drone that could survive passing through the storm, but every attempt had failed. She had collapsed from exhaustion once or twice already. Warren had convinced her to stop at points, but he knew that she wouldn't. She sat across from him in the meeting room, all options exhausted and no choices left. "You need to make the call." Amy exclaimed, deprived of sleep and completely tired out. "We don't even know if he could help." Warren responded, fiddling with the centre console phone on the table. "He'd do more good than we can right now, and you know it." she retorted, placing her laptop on the table, and logging in to U.N.I.T. to track down the number needed. "Ok. We do it. But don't get your hopes up." Warren ordered. He dialled the number into the phone, and began to call it. "Hello! Who's this?" the man questioned, with a few crackles in the line of the connection. "It's Warren Hope. Torchwood 5. We need your help." Warren announced, standing over the centre phone console. "Oh hello Warren! What do you need?" the man asked, with a quizative tone in his voice. "Josh was taken. By a rift storm a week or so ago. We haven't been able to track him. We need you to come in for help." Amy interrupted, holding her hair back with her hand. "Ok. I'll be there in a few. Don't hide the jammie dodgers Warren, I always know where they are." the man exclaimed, and the connection terminated. Within a few seconds, the wind inside the facility picked up, the engines of the T.A.R.D.I.S. roared, and the Doctor was in.


End file.
